By Gift Odekina
ABUJA — The 16th Emir of Kano, His Royal Highness Muhammadu Sanusi II, and renowned economist and founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Dr. Atedo Peterside, said yesterday that the reforms of the Federal Government would not translate into real gains for Nigerians unless there is a deliberate effort to cut down on the cost of governance.
Though they commended President Bola Tinubu for having the courage to remove fuel subsidy, they, however, frowned on the manner increased revenue brought about by subsidy removal was being spent.
Consequently, the duo, who spoke at the Oxford Global Think Tank Leadership Conference and Book Launch in Abuja, where top policy-makers and economic experts gathered to discuss the theme of leadership and reform in Nigeria, asked the leadership of the country to embrace economic discipline, sincerity and accountability in governance.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun however, said President Tinubu’s reforms are already yielding results
Why do we need 48 ministers, long convoys, endless travels? — Sanusi
In his remarks, the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, who was former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, provided an incisive analysis of the country’s economic trajectory, saying many of Nigeria’s challenges stemmed from a failure to act on sound economic advice.
He said: “It’s extremely important for us to try to understand economics and how the economy works. A failure to understand economics sometimes leads to misplaced expectations. There’s a role for the Central Bank, there’s a role for the Ministry of Finance. You’ve got monetary policy, fiscal policy, structural policies, and institutional reforms.”
Sanusi recalled the events of 2012 when the Jonathan administration attempted to remove fuel subsidy but was resisted by protests led by opposition figures who later inherited the same problem.
“If Nigeria had allowed the Jonathan government remove subsidy in 2012, the pain would have been a very tiny fraction of what we’re facing today,” he said.
He revealed that the Central Bank of Nigeria had projected limited inflationary impact at the time and pledged to stabilise the economy within a year.
“I stood up and put my credit card on the line and said, remove the subsidy today, inflation moves up from 11% to 13%, I will bring it down in a year. We would not have had 30-something per cent inflation,” Sanusi recalled.
He explained that the CBN under his leadership, took measures to prevent hyperinflation and runaway devaluation.
Sanusi said: “Nigerians don’t realise that we were on the brink of hyperinflation. We were heading in the direction of Zimbabwe. Inflation has been reined in and the runaway devaluation has been stopped.
Yes, we are at N1,400 to the dollar, but it’s better to know it will be N1,400 for six months than to think it’s N1,400 today and N2,000 tomorrow.’’
He, however, said the real problem remains unchecked public spending and a bloated government structure.
“We’ve got to be honest, why do we need 48 ministers? Why do we need dozens of vehicles when we’re moving around in convoys or travelling all over the country?” he queried.
Responding to a question on why Nigerian leaders fail to heed expert advice, the Emir said: “What my experience has shown is that leaders listen to so many people, and they decide that they’re going to accept those that tell them what they want to hear. We have too many sycophants in government.”
He lamented that truth-tellers in government were often branded enemies of the state, saying “people like Dr. Peterside and myself are always enemies of state because people don’t like hearing bad news.
Those who tell leaders the truth are seen as enemies, while those who praise them are rewarded.’’
Sanusi urged political leaders to surround themselves with people of integrity who would offer honest counsel, rather than flattery.
“It is not to your benefit to turn yourselves into praise singers. You disgrace yourselves and the offices you hold when you do that,” he warned.
Benefits of subsidy removal can only be realised through proper governance —Peterside
On his part, Atedo Peterside commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for removing fuel subsidy but said the real challenge laid in what was done with the additional revenue generated.
He said: “I’m somebody who, I believe, is speaking the truth all the time. So you are quoting me in 2012, you can quote me in 2025, the issues will not change. I’m not one of those people who, when you are out of government, you fight against fuel subsidy, and when you are in government, you advocate for it.”
He said the administration deserves credit for taking bold steps many governments had avoided for decades.
“I’ll be the first person to give credit to this government for removing fuel subsidy, which some of us started calling for from the very first economic summit over 30 years ago. But the same president must take the blame for sabotaging efforts to remove fuel subsidy in the past, in 2012,” Peterside added.
While commending recent economic adjustments, such as a more market-driven exchange rate, he said these were only the first steps, adding that Nigeria’s real test is ensuring accountability in how the increased revenue was used.
“Those measures improve fiscal balance. They give all three tiers of government so much more revenue. And that’s where the problem starts. What is the point of giving the thief more revenue if he’s only going to steal it?
“The real test is what is being done with that revenue in their hands. Is that revenue supposed to be used to fuel 400 cars to escort the president to the airport? The real result should be to help eliminate poverty, to get the economy functioning,’’ he said.
Peterside argued that while removal of subsidies and market reforms were necessary, their benefits could only be realised through proper governance and targeted social support.
He said: “It’s not true that gain follows pain. Gain follows pain only if you are doing the right things after putting the pain in place.’’
The businessman urged government to build an inclusive economy not dependent on connections or proximity to power.
“We want an economy where you don’t need to know the government to invest here and do business. I can clap for you for removing subsidy and for market-determined exchange rates, those are one-day actions. If you want me to keep clapping, show me the rest of your actions after those two things,” he added.
Tinubu’s reforms already yielding results — Edun
Speaking also at the event, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, said the administration of President Bola Tinubu has brought about positive leadership change and economic reform, designed to impact the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
He said: “In Nigeria, leadership changed in 2023, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu changed it for the better. If you look at the records, if you look at the statistics, if you look at the progress made since 2023, the food growth rate, the stable exchange rate, the lowering inflation those are just one side of the story.
‘’The most important aspect is the human side, the effect on people’s daily experience, the cost of food, the cost of transport, how they are living their lives.”
Edun emphasised that the Federal Government had put in place a “transparent, accountable, and robust” system for providing direct financial assistance to vulnerable households.
He said: “There is in place a transparent, accountable and robust system providing direct payments, in the first instance, to a total of 15 million households. Each individual is identified by their name, by their national identity number, and they are paid digitally, either to their bank account or to their mobile wallet. So there is accountability, transparency; there is a record.”
Responding to concerns about the reach of the programme, the minister revealed that data verification is ongoing to ensure that no community is left out of the initiative.
“Of course, we would like to roll out an even bigger programme of direct payments, but that’s a key part of alleviating and ensuring that the reforms also produce gains right down to the lowest levels,” he stated.
He further disclosed that the National Economic Council, under the approval of President Tinubu, has introduced a “work-based development programme” that will channel resources directly to communities across the country.
“There is in place a work-based development programme that will take resources, that will take information, that will take funding to the 8,809 wards in the 764 local governments. This will be a way of empowering economically-active people at the ward level.
“Small businesses, cottage industries will be helped, they will be supported, they will be financed, they will be funded,” Edun explained.
Highlighting the broader goals of the reforms, he said government’s emphasis is not only on macroeconomic growth but also on ensuring that citizens at the grassroots benefitted directly from national progress.
“In Nigeria of today, the emphasis is not just on the figures, the growth figures and so on and so forth. More importantly, it is about reaching the people right down at the ward level and assisting them to be able to prosper, to be able to produce more, and to be able to lead better lives,” he said.
Edun lauded the conference’s focus on leadership development, stressing that Nigeria’s youth must embrace integrity, empathy and responsibility as core values of leadership.
He said: “When we look at what we heard from the young people today, they talked about empathy, they talked about integrity, they talked about love, and they talked about responsibility. That way of thinking is certainly the way we want our young leaders thinking.’’
He congratulated the organizers for convening a national conversation on leadership, describing it as “all-important to the progress and transformation of Nigeria.”
The event also featured remarks from global figures, including the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who emphasised the need for courageous leadership and institutional reform to navigate global economic challenges.
Speaking also, Abia State governor, Dr. Alex Otti, said that Africa’s development will remain elusive unless its leaders embrace discipline, invest in education, and build human capital capable of transforming the continent’s abundant natural resources into sustainable wealth.
The governor said: “No matter how much mineral resources you have, if you do not have the right leadership, you will not make a lot of progress.”
He said after more than a century of development studies, the world had realised that natural resources alone do not guarantee prosperity.
“It has been proven that natural resources, without the requisite human intellect to make the most of them, can in themselves become a hypothesis to a society’s development aspirations,” he stated.
Governor Otti observed that while some nations had achieved remarkable progress with limited natural wealth, others richly endowed with resources continue to languish in poverty.
He said: “Everyone in this room knows perhaps a dozen countries around the world that developed with minimal income from crude mineral extraction.
‘’We also know another dozen countries blessed with abundant natural resources, and yet genuine development remains a disease.”
The governor described development as “a human function, a rigorous intellectual exercise, and the end product of a blessed heart,” stressing that progress was sustained by “the discipline of leadership, the power of ideas and the courage of execution.”
He urged African societies to prioritise education and human capital development, warning that without the “critical mass of individuals committed to making the most of natural resources,” mineral wealth would only become “litter that could trigger undesirable outcomes.”
Otti, who hailed the founder of the Oxford Global Centre, Professor Arun Mahadir, and former World Bank Vice President, Dr. Arunma Oteh, for their intellectual contributions, described Oteh’s new book, “All Hands on Deck: Prosperity Through World-Class Capital Markets” as “an excellent treatise on economic freedom, preservation of national sovereignty, and integration of domestic financiers into the development metrics.”
He said: “What makes this book truly exceptional is that it was written from a place of experience, with important anecdotes that break down the technical elements of the discussion for readers without extensive knowledge of economics and finance.”
Otti added that the book presents “important leadership lessons and a new paradigm for national development,” saying its message was particularly timely for Nigeria, which he described as being “at a crossroads with millions of people uncertain about the future.”
He called for a rethinking of Nigeria’s leadership recruitment system, which, he said, had prioritised mediocrity over merit.
“At the heart of our challenge is the dysfunctional leadership recruitment template that promotes chaos and mediocrity. The setbacks we have encountered in recent decades are the natural consequences of treating leadership development as a distant concern,” he declared.
The governor further criticised a system that “places scant regard on character, treats compassion as weakness, mistakes evidence for competence, and promotes the noisy as the truly courageous.”
“The target is to have a well-equipped and staffed medical facility within walking distance in all parts of the state,” he said.
Fayemi blames Jonathan for lacking courage to remove fuel subsidy
Also speaking on the occasion, former governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, blamed former President Goodluck Jonathan for lacking the courage to implement fuel subsidy removal during his administration, despite having the support of key stakeholders at the time.
Fayemi, who also served as Minister of Solid Minerals Development, revealed that contrary to public perception, many governors under Jonathan’s administration, including himself, supported the removal of fuel subsidy, though the then-opposition party, Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, opposed it politically.
“When we’re talking about 2012 Occupy Nigeria and the opposition to President Jonathan, the truth of the matter was that the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, of which I was a member, was the major advocate of subsidy removal.
“Yes, my party, the Action Congress of Nigeria at the time, did not support subsidy removal. In fact, Adams Oshiomhole and I were active promoters of it in all the town hall meetings that were held at the time,’’ Fayemi said.
He criticised Jonathan for bowing to political pressure, instead of standing firm on what he believed was an economically sound policy.
“I think when people want to blame the opposition for not lining up behind President Jonathan, there’s something to be said for President Jonathan lacking the conviction to go ahead to do what he believed in and ensure that subsidy is removed,” Fayemi stated.
Drawing a comparison between Jonathan and President Bola Tinubu, Fayemi commended Tinubu for showing decisive leadership by ending the fuel subsidy from the first day of his administration, despite the economic and political backlash that followed.
“What did President Tinubu do? He came in and said the subsidy is gone from day one. He could have opted out of it, especially when the pressure started mounting in the first month and prices began to rise. But he stayed on course, and that is the courage we must commend him for,” he said.
However, Fayemi cautioned that while policy courage was important, managing the aftermath of such bold economic decisions was equally critical.
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